Asphaltene dispersants - inhibitors

Abstract

An asphalt/asphaltene dispersant comprising an admixture of polymer A and polymer B ranging from 100 to 10 weight percent A to from 10 to 100 weight percent B. Wherein polymer A is an alkyl substituted phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 1000 to about 20,000 and an alkyl substituent containing from 4 to 24 carbon atoms, with alkyl substituent may be linear or branched alkyl group. Polymer B is a hydrophilic-lipophilic vinylic polymer.

Having described our invention we claim: 
     
       1. An asphalt/asphaltene dispersant comprising an admixture of polymer A and polymer B ranging from 100 to 10 weight percent A to from 10 to 100 weight percent B, wherein polymer A is an alkyl substituted phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 1000 to about 20,000 and an alkyl substituent containing from 4 to 24 carbon atoms, which alkyl substituent may be a linear or branched alkyl group; and Polymer B is a hydrophilic-lipophilic vinylic polymer having a structure essentially described as: ##STR5## wherein R is chosen, at each occurrence, from hydrogen and methyl groups; and R' is a hydrocarbonaceous group containing from 4-24 carbon atoms and chosen from linear or branched alkyl groups, aromatic, cyclic, alkaryl, aralkyl groups, and mixtures thereof; and   Q is chosen from the groups, ##STR6## and mixtures thereof; and M is chosen, at each occurrence, from the group hydrogen, alkali metal cations, alkaline earth metal cations, ammonium ions, protonated amines, quaternary amines, hydroxyl ethyl, hydroxy propyl and ##STR7## groups, and mixtures thereof; and R" is chosen, at each occurrence, from the group ##STR8## and mixtures thereof; and m and n are both integers of sufficient number to achieve a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 5000-250,000, and being of such a ratio as to describe the presence of from 90 to 10 weight percent of the lipophilic monomer, m, and from 10 to 90 weight percent of the hydrophilic monomer, n, and wherein     x ranges from 1 to 20.   
     
     
       2. The asphalt/asphaltene dispersant of claim 1 wherein the ratio of A:B is between about 80:20 to about 20:80. 
     
     
       3. The asphalt/asphaltene dispersant of claim 2 wherein R' is chosen from linear and branched alkyl groups containing from 5 to 12 carbon atoms and Q is ##STR9## and x is from 1-10. 
     
     
       4. The asphalt/asphaltene dispersant of claim 3 wherein the weight ratio of A:B is from 70:30 to 30:70 and the polymer A is a 1:1 mole ratio of nonyl phenol:formaldehyde liquid resin having a molecular weight of from 2000-8000 and polymer B is a copolymer of lauryl acrylate and hydroxyethyl methacrylate containing from 90-10 weight percent lauryl acrylate and from 10-90 weight percent hydroxyethylmethacrylate. 
     
     
       5. The asphalt/asphaltene dispersant of claim 4 wherein polymers A and B are dissolved in an inert aromatic naphtha solvent having a boiling point of at least 100° C. at standard atmospheric pressure. 
     
     
       6. An asphalt/asphaltene dispersant which comprises from 20 to 100 weight percent of an alkyl substituted phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin having about a 1:1 mole ratio of alkyl phenol to formaldehyde and a molecular weight ranging between about 1000 to about 20,000, and wherein the alkyl substituent is a linear or branched alkyl group containing from five to twelve carbon atoms; and from 80 to 10% weight percent of a hydrophilic-lipophilic vinylic polymer having a molecular weight between 5,000-250,000, and containing from 90 to 10 weight percent of a fatty (meth)acrylate ester and from 10 to 90 weight percent of a hydrophilic monomer chosen from the group consisting of (meth) acrylic acid, (meth) acrylic-acid salts, and (meth) acrylic acid alkoxylate esters. 
     
     
       7. The dispersant of claim 6 wherein the alkyl phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin is a nonyl phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin having a molecular weight of from 2,000 to 12,000 and the hydrophilic-lipophilic vinyl polymer is a copolymer having a molecular weight of from 20,000 to 100,000, and contains lauryl (meth)acrylate and hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate in a weight ratio of from about 90:10 to about 10:90. 
     
     
       8. The dispersant of claim 7 wherein the nonyl-phenol-formaldehyde resin and the vinyl polymer containing lauryl (meth)acrylate and hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate are in the weight ratio of from 10:1 to about 1:10, and further, wherein the vinyl polymer contains from 80 to 20 weight percent lauryl (meth)acrylate. 
     
     
       9. An asphalt/asphaltene dispersant for petroleum, crude oil and hydrocarbon fractions thereof comprising a 1:1 mole ratio nonyl phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin having a molecular weight of from 2,000 to about 20,000 in optional admixture with a vinyl polymer containing at least one of the hydrophilic vinylic monomers chosen from the group consisting of (meth)acrylamide, (meth)acrylic acid, (meth)acrylic acid ethoxylates, and (meth)acrylic propoxylates, or salts thereof; and at least one lipophilic vinylic monomer chosen from the group consisting of butyl (meth)acrylate, pentyl (meth)acrylate, hexyl (meth)acrylate, heptyl (meth)acrylate, octyl (meth)acrylate, nonyl (meth)acrylate, decyl (meth)acrylate, lauryl (meth)acrylate, stearyl (meth)acrylate, Oleyl (meth)acrylate, Linoleyl (meth)acrylate, myristyl (meth)acrylate, capryl (meth)acrylate, and mixtures thereof; and further wherein the hydrophilic vinylic monomer and lipophilic vinylic monomer are in the weight ratio of from 10:90 to about 90:10 and the vinylic polymer has a molecular weight of from about 10,000 to about 150,000. 
     
     
       10. The dispersant of claim 9 wherein the nonyl phenol-formaldehyde liquid resin and the vinylic polymer are admixed in a weight ratio between about 80:20 to about 20:80; and further wherein the vinyl polymer contains from 20-90 weight percent lauryl (meth)acrylate and from 80-10 weight percent hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate.